Legal Oral History Project

The Legal Oral History Project is a collaborative effort by a team of faculty, librarians, and students to record and preserve first-person narratives of graduates and members of the Penn Law Community.

The project begins with a seminar taught by Professor Sarah Barringer Gordon and Associate Director for Public Services of the Biddle Law Library Edwin Greenlee which trains students in the theory and practice of oral history. Each student then selects a distinguished graduate or member of the Penn Law community and conducts a one- to two-hour videotaped interview. Following the interview, the student transcribes the videotape and prepares a biographical article for publication. The videotape, transcript, article, and other biographical information are then archived in Biddle Law Library. The archive, which is posted on the web as well as housed in the library, is a valuable resource for legal scholars around the country, and for members of the law school and university.